Every college freshman struggles with what to bring to college with them. More often than not, they realize once they get there that they brought way too much stuff, and a lot of it goes untouched throughout the year. On the other hand, there are some essentials that a dorm room shouldn’t go without.
As far as decorating, college students can benefit a lot from looking at what other people have done and getting ideas from them. Dorms are notorious for being small, so storage tips are always helpful. They’ll want to find a balance, though, between keeping the room uncluttered while still decorating with their own personal touch, especially when it’s so foreign to be away from home. A well decorated dorm room can almost have all of the comforts of home. Websites like Pinterest have pages and pages worth of decorating and storage ideas for college students to try. In addition to that, here are three things that any college student can benefit from having in their dorm room:
Furniture
Typically, there’s not a lot of room for additional furniture. A standard dorm has a bed, a closet, and a desk for each occupant. In addition to that students usually bring in a fridge (or get a room where one is provided), a microwave, a coffee pot (one that fits with the school’s safety codes, of course), and maybe a few extra furniture pieces. A comfortable place to sit and relax can be a great addition to a dorm, especially when the desk chairs are usually awkward and uncomfortable. Bean bag chairs, for example, like the ones on AhhProds.com are popular in dorm rooms since they’re usually pretty small, super comfortable, and the outside is easy to wash. New students often think that bringing a TV, DVD player, or similar item is a necessity and then quickly realize that with classes, sports, extracurriculars, work, and a social life there’s little time left for watching TV. It’s usually best to leave those expensive items at home.
Posters and Decorations
The majority of college dorms are adorned with posters and pictures around the room, which is really a necessity to any dorm room. Having those posters up do an excellent job at creating a personal, familiar place in the unfamiliar world of college life. Just remember to bring tools to hang those posters up without putting holes in the wall– colleges don’t allow their students to use tacks on the drywall.
A Good Pair of Headphones
Often, students arrive at their dorm expecting to make friends right away, be out late almost every night, and to not be bothered by all of the noise and excitement of dorm life. That’s usually true for the first few weeks, but almost everyone realizes that they need their own quiet time in order to stay sane in college. Other times, roommates can be good friends but one will stay up later than the other. Investing in a pair of noise cancelling headphones is a good idea for everyone, so at anytime they can shut out the noise and focus on their own mental health, which becomes extremely important during the college years.
